An Appetite for Adventure

From [08.10.02] Jimmy Arrives in Beijing

When I fist announced plans to come to Beijing, I expected the support of my friends and family, which I got in spades. What I didn’t expect was that a few of my very good friends, including my best friend, would be concurrently descending on China’s capital. First up is Jimmy, who arrived just a few days ago.

Jimmy and I knew each other from the way-back-when of our freshman year at college; he lived upstairs from me. He’s a lawyer now (and I’m still a student. LOL), and is here doing some lawyerly duties. It was a fluke we even learned we’d be here at the same time. When I sent out the email about my going away party, Jimmy quickly responded with a “I’m moving to Beijing, too!” This world condenses everyday.

To welcome him to the Norther Capital, we scooped him up two nights ago for a stroll along Wanfuxing pedestrian street and an evening of Sichuan hotpot. Hotpot is a favorite of China, particularly in Beijing where the frigid winter nights are made a little more bearable with a belly full of hot, juicy broth-boiled yummies.

How hotpot works: Your party orders a variety of meats (mutton is favorite here), seafood and veggies. A large bowl of flavored broth is brought to your table and put on a burner. Once the succulent broth is boiling, you drop the different fixings in to cook. When they are down, you fish them out with a ladle or chopsticks, dunk them in a tangy brown sauce, and deposit in your mouth.

The different kinds of hotpot dictate the kind of broth you receive. Based on the super spicy cuisine of the Sichuan province, Sichuan hotpot is one of the more challenging meals to eat. However, most likely because we scream “non-Chinese,” we received a milder version — a boon for me, as I don’t have the highest spiciness tolerance. The bowl was split into a spicy and non spicy side, and each was delicious.

After dinner, we ventured down into Wanfuxing alley, in search of wild edibles. Here, Jimmy and Sean deigned to try scorpions:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3551607482810059151&hl=en

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2282250705416955761&hl=en

As for me, maybe next time.

[08.10.02] Jimmy Arrives in Beijing